Dell scraps MP3 player encore, will focus on music service

Dell purchased Zing, a media software company, in 2007 and announced plans to …

Dell's plan to chip away at Apple's iPod+iTunes iceberg have apparently melted. After purchasing media portal software in 2007 and announcing plans this year for a new player that would tie into it, Dell has reportedly scrapped the media gadget in favor of building the software into every machine it ships.

Dell first tipped the industry off to its plans for re-entering the media player market when it purchased Zing in August 2007. Zing builds software for streaming music and radio to portable devices, as well as downloading, discovering, and sharing songs and photos with friends. Considering that Dell discontinued its ill-fated DJ Ditty MP3 player just one year earlier, purchasing Zing was a bit of a head-scratcher until the computer maker confirmed plans to introduce a new Zing-based media player back in July.

Now, however, Dell is said to have backpedaled on these plans and shelved the player "indefinitely," according to the Wall Street Journal's anonymous sources. Instead, the company will focus on competing with software like iTunes, Windows Media Player, and many others by delivering Zing software that organizes downloaded music and movies. Once finalized, Dell may bundle this software on its desktop and notebook computers, which is sure to put smiles on faces at Microsoft.

This Zing software is only one component of Dell's new push into media and software services. Last month, the ailing computer maker introduced bundles of movies and music that could be added to any computer. Movies are encumbered with Windows Media DRM but music tracks, available for as low as 50 cents each, are DRM-free MP3s.

If Dell is focusing on media management software, though, it's going to have to bring something truly compelling to the table. Last time we checked the market, it wasn't exactly hurting for a good media management app. But if Dell goes one step further into store territory, it's really going to have to hit one out of the park with a unique business model or, at the very least, something that isn't just another MP3 store.

Regardless of the choices Dell makes with some sort of Zing-based media player or store, shelving the gadget looks like a smart move. Apart from Apple's dominant position, the current rocky economic climate doesn't seem favorable for another MP3 from a company not known for succeeding with them.